Dating back some 15 to 20 years ago wooden shutters having movable louvers or slats were very popular in the window covering field. More recently the wooden shutters of the past have been replaced with plastic e.g. vinyl shutters.
A typical vinyl shutter is made with a hollow louver body having an open mouth at each end of the louver body. The open mouth is then fitted with a plastic end cap which includes a central post providing a pivotal mount to be fitted with the shutter frame.
The typical end cap of known plastic shutters has a push in part which inserts into the mouth at the end of the louver body. This end cap further has an external face part which overhangs and completely covers the mouthwall around the mouth at the end of the louver body. This leaves an unsightly gap between the overhang part of the end cap and the end of the louver body. Such a gap is very easily seen from both the inside and outside surfaces of the shutter and clearly distinguishes the typical vinyl shutter from a wooden shutter.
A vinyl shutter is in some respects more desirable than a wooden shutter. For example, a vinyl shutter is typically more durable than a wooden shutter. Furthermore, the fitting of a control bar to a louver is better handled in a plastic shutter than in a wooden shutter. However, most people like the appearance of the more traditional wooden shutter.
The movable louvers in a traditional wooden shutter generally have a solid one-piece construction and therefore do not need to be fitted with end caps. This totally eliminates the unsightly gaps noted above encountered with the fitting of an end cap into a louver of a plastic shutter.
Very recently attempts have been made by a progressive thinking plastic shutter company to make a plastic louver assembly with flush mounted end caps. These flush mounted end caps push into the open mouth at each end of the louver to a position where the external face of the end cap is level with the mouthwall around the mouth of the end cap. In theory, this is a very esthetically appealing answer to making a vinyl louver have the appearance of a wooden louver. However, from a practical standpoint it is very difficult to maintain the flushness of the face of the end cap completely around the mouth of the louver body. This is because the face of the end cap has an outside edge consistent in size with the interior dimensions of the wall around the mouth of the louver body. As such, other than the provision of ribs internally of the louver body there is nothing to preclude the end cap from pushing too far into the louver. When this happens the face of the end cap or at least portions of the face of the end cap sink into the louver body. In some cases, with the known flush mounted end caps they can skew to the point where part of the face of the end cap sinks into the louver body while another part of the face of the end cap protrudes outwardly from the louver body. This becomes particularly unsightly.